Second half strikes put Town through in cup

PRESTATYN Town manager Neil Gibson hopes last weekend’s Welsh Cup victory over West End can ‘kick start’ their season.
The Seasiders lost ground on their Welsh Premier rivals over the last few weeks, conceding 13 goals as they claimed just one point from a possible nine, seeing them slip to third place in the table.
Town bounced back last Saturday with a hard-fought 2-0 win over West End to seal their place in the last eight of the Welsh Cup, and Gibson hopes the win has helped his side turn the corner.
He said: “Hopefully it will kick start our season.
“The lads, to be fair to them, did excellently well for 15, 16 games of the season.
“We’ve had a blip and we’ve had time to talk about it, re-stock and look at where we need to improve again and hopefully that’ll be more like the Prestatyn that you see over the next 10 games of the season.”
Work to get the Bastion Gardens in a playable condition had taken all day, and with the help of supporters and officials, the match went ahead, despite kick off being delayed by 45 minutes.
It was the visitors who looked the more determined of the two sides, as they dictated the opening exchanges, with Ashleigh Curtis, Ross Jones and Jordan Davies all having opportunities.
Anthony Stephens then went close with a header for Prestatyn on 19 minutes, before Chris Davies rocketed a shot narrolwy wide, while minutes later, Andy Parkinson nearly finshed a great run in style, but flashed his shot inches wide.
Both sides could have taken the lead at the end, with Ross Jones hitting the crossbar for West End, while Town’s Jason Price put a shot over from a promising position.
With the watery surface restricting opportunities, the Swansea outfit continued to exert themselves and forced keeper Jon Hill-Dunt into a few smart saves.
However, the deadlock was finally broken by the Seasiders on 69 minutes, when Andy Parkinson nipped in to convert Chris Davies’ cross from close range.
Town began to pile the pressure on the visitors’ defence, and came close to doubling their advantage through Price, who flashed his shot wide, and Parkinson, who saw his attempt well saved.
Town eventually put the tie out of reach, when manager Neil Gibson skillfully beat two defenders before curling a shot beyond Luke Martin, to book a quarter final tie away to Mark Aizlewood’s resurgent Carmarthen Town in Wales’ premier cup competition.